Inane bullchocolate is the key, here. Feel free to make references to things which you know of, like narrating an interesting event which actually happened in a game or animu somewhere, like,

"So, the other day, I tried to walk past this bridge, but the darned thing was closed off, as well as the area around it. But nobody there. Huge crowd of soldiers at one point on the bridge, though; they had someone cornered. I dunno what happened after that bit, because I had to get going... but I thought I heard the sounds of combat; nothing appeared in the news, though, so I suppose it wasn't a big deal. What's happening with your life?"

Tweak the event to match the characters' setting/world, and volia! Instant points of discussion.